Do the benefits of cannabis legalization outweigh the risks?

The debate on cannabis legalization has been raised in the past years. Some experts claim that medical and recreational use should be legal. Others argue that many negative impacts should be considered. However, significant changes in the policy landscape of cannabis legalization have taken place in some countries such as US, Canada and Australia. On the one hand, increasing evidence indicated that medical use of cannabis benefits in alleviating neuropathic pain, improving multiple sclerosis spasticity, reducing chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting, and many other chronic conditions (Isaac, Saini, & Chaar, 2016). Also, cannabis legalization can reduce illicit market. On the other hand, regulation of alcohol indicated that legalization increased use by adolescents and its attendant harms. Convincing evidence showed that legalization of medical cannabis using in US lead to more using of cannabis (Fischer, Rehm, & Crépault,2016).

This research is going to find out the benefits and risks of cannabis legalization and how people think about cannabis legalization.